Here’s an interesting debate that started up earlier this week regarding the announcement of an extended cut of Black Hawk Down. When is it appropriate for a studio to release an extended edition of a movie and when is it nothing more than a cash grab? I think it’s important to distinguish between the terms “Director’s Cut” and “Extended Cut”. A Director’s Cut is usually a chance for a director to go back and re-edit the movie without creative restrictions, restoring the original vision that may have been hampered by disagreements with producers or length/pacing issues required for a theatrical release. Some good examples of this are Ridley Scott’s own Director’s Cuts of Legend and Blade Runner. On the other hand, an Extended Cut is usually just the result of inserting deleted scenes back into a movie, without any discretion as to whether or not those scenes actually enhance the movie. It’s important to realize that the vast majority of the time, deleted scenes are removed for a good reason, and the movie is weaker with them included. Sticking with Ridley Scott as an example, the Gladiator Extended Edition is not a Director’s Cut (and Scott gives a personal introduction to the DVD informing us of this fact). Of course there are grey areas as well… where do Peter Jackson’s Extended Editions of the Lord of the Rings movies fit into all this? Regardless, I think it’s safe to say that there are times when we want to see extended cuts of a movie, and times when we don’t. For me the key factor is whether or not the director was involved. What do you think? Are you a completist who needs to see every scene from your favourite movies? What are some of your favourite extended cuts?

This weekend Sharon Stone resorts to smut in order to revitalize her career with Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, while director James Gunn resurrects the gory gross-out horror movies of the 80’s with Slither. Fox also gives us the sequel to their generally well-received animated movie Ice Age, and hip-hop starring vehicle ATL is in select theatres.

Basic Instinct 2
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
Slither
ATL (limited)

Who remembers Underdog? This classic cartoon from the 60’s is getting the live action feature film treatment, courtesy of Disney and Spyglass Entertainment, using real dogs enhanced with digital effects. Lately there have been some rumours about who might be voicing the furry superhero, and it sounds like there are some interesting names vying for the job. Word on the street is that comedian Dane Cook currently has the inside track, and that the studio may have already made him an offer. The studio has also been courting Nicolas Cage and Steve Martin as possible alternatives. Still, I can’t say I’m all that excited about this movie — it just sounds like another Garfield-type abomination. Even Bill Murray couldn’t save Garfield, and whoever they can get to sign on as Underdog probably won’t change the fact that this is going to suck.

Ever since I was a kid I’ve been fascinated by space travel and exploration. Of course, back in the 80’s there was a lot more excitement about this stuff, and NASA was doing a lot more manned missions and space shuttle launches. Now it seems like maybe they are trying to drum up public interest again, and here’s a new Disney-produced IMAX film to help do it. Roving Mars features images captured by the two Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, along with interviews giving insight into the making of these rovers and information about the red planet itself. Produced by Frank Marshall (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and directed by George Butler (Pumping Iron), the movie clearly shows some breathtaking scenery. I’m sure it’s no For All Mankind, but what can I say… space documentaries rule. Check out the official website for more info, and watch the trailer below.

You might think that by now just about every major cartoon or TV show from the 80’s has migrated over to DVD, but surprisingly there are at least a few that still haven’t received a proper DVD release up until now. Case in point: one of the most popular cartoons and toy lines from the 80’s, Voltron: Defender of the Universe. This show was one of the earliest examples of anime being successfully imported and adapted for a North American audience, and was also revived in the late 90’s with a CGI series called Voltron: The Third Dimension, and more recently with a comic book published by Devil’s Due. Clearly a DVD set of the original series is long overdue, and now we finally have confirmation that the wait is almost over. This September, World Events Productions will team up with distributor Media Blasters to release Volume 1 of what will be 8 separate Voltron DVD releases, each containing 3 discs and 15 episodes. The DVDs will include special edition packaging, digitally restored video and remixed 5.1 audio, plus as many extras as they can squeeze in. They also plan to release the “Vehicle Voltron” series (Armored Squadron Dairugger XV) on DVD sometime next year, uncut and with original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. For more info visit VoltronDVD.com.

The amount of time between a movie’s theatrical release and home video release on DVD has been steadily shrinking over the last few years, particularly for movies that bomb at the box office. Current reports indicate that the average movie is released on DVD four months after hitting theatres. This week a proposal was made by some studio execs to shrink the DVD release window even further in an effort to battle piracy and slowing DVD sales. However, executives from a number of major movie theatre chains have dismissed the idea with the belief that it would be bad for business all around. Still, it is probably only a matter of time before that release window becomes irrelevant. With the growing quality of home theatre systems and the lacklustre movies being released, it’s no wonder that people are waiting for DVD to do most of their movie watching. And with filmmakers like Steven Soderbergh paving the way for a simultaneous release format, do movie theatres have their days numbered? Personally I’d love to see more limited release movies hit DVD right away, but I’d hate to see theatres fall by the wayside. What do you think?

Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story is a powerful documentary about boxer Emile Griffith, who brutally beat opponent Benny “Kid” Paret to death during a bout in 1962. The thing that really makes the story interesting is the fact that Griffith was allegedly gay, and before the match Paret had publicly taunted him for being a homosexual. Griffith has been plagued with guilt ever since. Given the current Hollywood climate and the fact that in the wake of Brokeback Mountain everyone is scrambling to find more movies about gay characters, it seems only natural that this story would be turned into a fictionalized big studio drama. Stephen Adly Guirgis (NYPD Blue) is writing the screenplay and George C. Wolfe (Lackawanna Blues, the upcoming Kanye West movie) will direct. Original Ring of Fire director Dan Klores will co-produce the film. (Ring of Fire is now available on DVD through Anchor Bay, and you can watch the trailer here.)

Documentaries have been steadily growing in popularity in recent years, and with the many great documentaries that were released in 2005, it seems safe to say that the genre is experiencing a bit of a boom right now. This can only mean more public interest for festivals like Hot Docs, an annual film festival in Toronto that screens nothing but documentaries. This year Hot Docs will run from April 28th to May 7th, and will feature over 100 movies. Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man) will be a guest speaker, and the recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award. Among the many interesting films playing are Darkon (the LARP documentary I posted about a couple days ago), Wordplay (about New York Times crossword editor Will Shortz and the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament), Heavy Metal Jr. (about a metal band whose oldest member is just 12 years old), and Mozartballs (about 5 strange people including a woman who believes that Mozart’s soul inhabits her body). Check out the full program schedule at the link below.

From Twitch Film (via Film Rot) comes news that the first images have appeared online for Marilyn Manson’s upcoming film Phantasmagoria: The Visions Of Lewis Carroll. Wait a minute — hold the phone. Marilyn Manson is directing a movie? I vaguely recall hearing something about this, but I guess I missed the official announcement a couple months ago. Isn’t it bad enough that we already have Rob Zombie unleashing his “uncompromising artistic vision” on the film world? Okay I know some people actually like Zombie’s films, and to be honest, I do think Marilyn Manson is a talented and interesting guy beneath all that make-up. Plus this movie sounds like a perfect fit. Phantasmagoria is not based on the 1995 Roberta Williams video game, but rather it is a biopic of sorts about Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, where his disturbing and strange imagination overlaps with his real life. I guess it’s kind of like a twisted version of Finding Neverland. Manson had said before that he would do a series of short films to be released on his website, followed by the feature film, although it is unclear whether or not the short films are still happening. RooTV has a video of a press conference from the Berlin Film Festival where Manson discusses his motives for making the movie. Check out images from the movie at the link below.

Arrested Development hopefuls might want to make sure they are sitting down before they continue reading the rest of this post. Series creator Mitch Hurwitz has confirmed that he is parting ways with Arrested Development, as he feels that the show “has reached its creative end”. It seems a little hard to believe since the show has only lasted 3 seasons, but when you think about it, 3 seasons is pretty damn good for a show that was always on the verge of cancellation. So what this means is that the chances of Showtime picking up Arrested Development are now slim to none, as they were only interested in the series if Hurwitz was on board. Hurwitz did, however, hint to Variety that he would consider working as a consultant for the show, and that he is interested in making an Arrested Development feature film. Not that anyone has actually shown interest in such a thing at this point, but it sounds like he’s throwing out a line and hoping someone will bite. Considering the poor ratings the show had over the years, and the dense plotlines and layers of jokes, I question the appeal that the show would have as a movie.